I See Fire
by ScarredNotBroken
Summary: Standing on the charred ground, staring at his best friend before him, he wouldn't let the world end this way. /Theory one-shot/ Major character death/ Spoilers for chapter 416.


**A/N: **I regret nothing.

And I blame my roommate for listening to Peter Hollens' version of I See Fire (the original done by Ed Sheeran) that plays over the credits of the third Hobbit movie.

(Okay, maybe I regret this a little bit...)

Disclaimer: Nope. Definitely don't own this. You'll probably be glad at the end that I don't.

* * *

"_If this is to end in fire  
__Then we should all burn together.  
__Watch the flames grow high, into the night.  
_

"_Calling out father, oh  
__Stand by and we will  
__Watch the flames burn auburn on  
__The mountain side._

"_Now I see fire…"_

Gray couldn't believe what he was seeing. No. This wasn't what he signed up for. He had promised but… It didn't matter what he chose now. Either choice would require him to break a promise. Which was the more important of the two? He wondered.

He could keep his promise to his father and defeat END.

Or he could keep his promise to his best friend.

But he couldn't keep them both. No, not anymore.

Not when his best friend had turned out to be END. Etherious Natsu Dragneel. How had it come down to this? He had thought he could do this, could defeat END like he had vowed, but now… Now, he wasn't so sure. Not when he was facing Natsu.

"_You'll stay by my side, right, Gray? If it's us, I know we can do this."_

'You said that, but look at you now,' Gray thought bitterly. 'I don't think I have a choice in this, do I? I have to take down END – before he takes down the whole world.'

The fiery demon turned his attention to the Ice Mage, a cruel smirk plastered on his lips, one that Gray thought he would never see on his friend's face. He laughed, the sound ringing out just like Gray always remembered it sounding, and he had to remind himself that this wasn't the Natsu he had always known. The Natsu he had known would never turn against his comrades; this Natsu was hell-bent on taking them all down in fire.

He stood up from where he had been kneeling on the charred ground. Standing taller and more confident than he felt, he forced a smirk onto his lips. "What's wrong, you over-grown lizard?" he taunted. "Even now, can't you take me down? Pathetic!" If Natsu was still in there somewhere… Well, either way they were all toast if someone didn't try to do something. He could see his comrades in his peripheral vision, gaping at him in horror. He understood why; he was provoking a demon, after all. They all already understood what demons could do, long before the battle they found themselves in now, and he was sure they all thought he was an idiot. And maybe he was. But if he was going down tonight, he was taking END down with him. And if this was the last time he would ever get to fight his best friend, he wanted Natsu to pull out all the stops – even if Natsu wasn't actually in control at the moment.

His grin widened as the flames grew around his rival. He thought it was odd, even now, that his father had thought ice magic was the answer to still flames. But if this was what it took to get Natsu back to normal, then he would bet his life on his magic. He didn't have much left to give, but he would give it all. "I'm sorry, Natsu," he whispered. "I promised you that I'd never again purposely use my life as long as I have my friends around me. I'm sorry, Natsu, but I have to break that promise now. I hope, when you get back to your right frame of mind, that you'll forgive me."

He clenched his right hand into a fist, the mark of his inherited magic appearing. He closed his eyes, willing with everything he was that this wouldn't backfire on him. He felt as his demon took over, renewing his strength if only marginally. He gathered everything he had left, letting it pour from every part of his being. He opened his eyes, a wash of his own white ice and brilliant flame colliding in his vision. This was it – the defining moment. He gritted his teeth together.

Failing wasn't an option.

He _would _destroy that demon, once and for all.

Gray released the very last of his magic in a single burst. As it met the brilliant flames before him, he couldn't help but smile as his vision grew dark.

'Arigatou, Natsu, to gomen. Sayonara.'

"_And I hope that you remember me."_

"_And if the night is burning  
__I will cover my eyes  
__For if the dark returns  
__Then my brothers will die…"_

Cloudy black eyes slowly opened, immediately meeting warm brown ones. Were those tears falling from her eyes, or was he imaging things? Maybe it was all the smoke and ash floating in the air making them water? He wasn't sure. Actually, he wasn't even sure why he was lying on the ground at this moment if he were being honest.

"Lucy?" he quietly questioned. "What…what happened?"

The smile that had formed on her face when he had opened his eyes quickly fell into a look of utter despair. "That's right," she spoke quietly, more to herself than to him, he noticed. "You wouldn't know, would you?"

He slowly sat up, trying to meet her gaze that was now turned away. "Lucy, tell me what happened. Please."

"You –." She paused, biting her bottom lip. "It's over, Natsu. Gray defeated END."

His eyes grew wide. "What?!"

"You don't remember because," she finally turned her gaze back to him, meeting his eyes, "_you _were END, Natsu. Gray –!" Lucy choked momentarily on her words before they finally made it out in the midst of a choked sob. "He gave his life to spare yours."

Natsu felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Multiple times. "What? No. No, that's not…possible. He swore to me…!"

"He didn't have a choice…"

"There is _always _another choice! Any choice would have been than that!" He couldn't contain his own grief any longer, the hot and bitter tears streaming down his face.

"We _all_ would have died if he hadn't!" Lucy practically shouted back at him. "That idiot," she added in a whisper.

Her words sunk like a knife into his heart, twisting and turning the whole way in. This was a thousand – no, a _million _times worse than the day Igneel had left him. At least Igneel leaving hadn't been his fault. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, his nails digging into his palms until they drew blood.

"Zeref," he bit out, determination and anger clouding his countenance, "will pay for what he's done. I'll defeat him. Gray's sacrifice won't be in vain.

"I will _personally _make sure of that."

"_Now I see fire  
__Inside the mountains  
__I see fire  
__Burning the trees  
__I see fire  
__Hollowing souls  
__I see fire  
__Blood on the breeze."_

A cool breeze that no longer smelled of smoke and ash brushed his face, and when he finally opened his dark eyes, his gaze was met with a clear blue sky. He pushed himself into a sitting position, amazed that he wasn't injured. After all, he'd just been fighting END so – oh. Yeah. That was probably why nothing hurt anymore.

"Otsukare, Gray."

His eyes grew wide as he spun around to find the deep voice. "What…?!"

"You did what I never would have been able to."

He finally stood up, taking a hesitant step forward. "Then…I really…"

The woman nodded. "Though we had hoped we wouldn't be seeing you so soon…" She shook her head. "You're too young to be here with us already."

He looked away. "I didn't have a choice. We all would have died if I hadn't." He felt a soft hand against his face, turning it back to meet her gaze.

"We know," she spoke softly, a smile gracing her lips. "And we're proud of you for doing the right thing."

Before he could stop himself, he had thrown his arms around the small woman. "Okasan. Tadaima."

Her arms snaked around him as well. "Hai. Okaeri."

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked up into his father's smiling face. How long had he longed for this? He couldn't remember. But as he stood with his family, the pains and aches of life started to fade.

His battle was finally over.


End file.
